Bryanna’s Low-Fat Veggie “Guacamole”

Avocado, green beans, baby limas, and silken tofu combine to make a lower-fat guacamole that’s just as delicious as “regular.”

In my den, two bookcases sag under the weight of the dozens of cookbooks I’ve managed to cram into them. Cookbooks spill out onto the neighboring coffee table, line the counter between kitchen and den, and form heaps around my bed. Sometimes I read them like novels, the sidebars and stories especially, and sometimes I thumb through them for inspiration (looking mostly at the pictures, I confess).

But do I cook from them? Almost never. Because I’m constantly experimenting with my own recipes, I have little time to try other people’s. Which is sad, really. It means I’m not getting the benefit of all their accumulated knowledge and experience.

For the next few weeks, that is going to change. Lately I’ve been reading a few cookbooks that I really want to cook from. So I’ve contacted their authors and received permission to share some of their recipes with you. I’ll also give you my brief impressions of their books, including how low in fat the recipes appear.

To start things off, I made a low-fat guacamole by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Bryanna Clark Grogan. Bryanna’s book The (Almost) No-Fat Cookbook came out the same year I became vegan and was indispensable to me when I needed to learn how to cook without oil, eggs, and dairy products. I was thrilled when I got to meet her at a McDougall weekend in 2008 and that I got to spend a little time (not enough!) with her at this year’s Vida Vegan Con. She is as gracious and knowledgeable in person as she is in her writing.

Her new book, World Vegan Feast: 200 Fabulous Recipes from Over 50 Countries, is a must for anyone who likes to cook “off the beaten trail.” While it does contain new takes on dishes you’ve probably heard of–pesto, pirogies, tamale pie, tiramisu–it contains many international recipes that were new to me, including Persian Eggplant Stew with Yellow Split Peas and Lime, Peruvian Stew with Peppers and Walnut Sauce, and Coulibiac (a pastry-wrapped Russian loaf).

While some of the recipes take less than 30 minutes to prepare and are marked with a <30 symbol, others are more involved and often require the making of other “sub-recipes.” Bryanna’s instructions are very clear and detailed, and she often gives multiple substitutes for ingredients. Read any recipe and you come away with the impression that these dishes were very well-tested.

To me, some of the best parts of the book are the sidebars and information boxes where Bryanna gives detailed notes about ingredients and cooking methods, including a two-page discussion of bean myths (no, salt doesn’t cause them to be tough) and a handy guide to egg replacers.

World Vegan Feast is not an oil-free cookbook. Most recipes do contain some oil or vegan margarine, though in many it’s used to saute vegetables and can be eliminated by using an alternate cooking method. Bryanna writes, “I don’t subscribe to a drastically low-fat vegan lifestyle, but I also do not believe that vegan recipes should just be vegan versions or variations of traditional high-fat recipes, with the same amount of oil, or vegan margarine substituted for the butter. I want the same pleasure quotient from a vegan recipe as a non-vegan one, but I will rework it as much as I can to cut the fat down, to use healthier fats, to use healthier flours, and so on.”

There is also liberal use of nuts, wheat gluten, soy, and salt, so if you have concerns about any of those ingredients, you should probably look inside the book on Amazon or in your local bookstore before you buy. Recipes are marked with symbols for gluten-free, gluten-free option, soy-free, soy-free option, and 30 minutes or less.

Though I was tempted by several of Bryanna’s stews, I chose to make her lower-fat guacamole both because it was already oil-free and because I’ve been searching without success for a lower-fat guacamole that I really love. I’ve tried Brocco-moles and Pea-moles and even Cucumber-moles without much liking any of them, but this combination of avocado, green beans, baby limas, and silken tofu really worked for me–I forgot it was supposed to be lower-fat and just enjoyed it as guacamole. My green beans took a little longer than 5 minutes to cook (they were tough) but they and the lima beans blended well with the avocado.

Bryanna's Low-Fat Veggie "Guacamole"

Bryanna's note: I have played with this recipe for years, and this particular combination of vegetables, silken tofu, avocado, and salsa is one we just can't get enough of. You'll need a food processor for this recipe.

Instructions

Cook both types of beans in a medium saucepan in enough water to cover for about 5 minutes or until completely tender but not mushy.

Drain the beans well and transfer them to a food processor (not a blender), along with the avocado, tofu, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cumin. Process the mixture until smooth, stopping the machine a couple of times to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the salsa and pulse the mixture just until it is all mixed in. Taste fore seasoning (add more citrus juice or salsa to your taste, if you like. Transfer to a covered bowl and refrigerate.

I am so excited about this post and that there are more to come over the next few weeks! I love hearing about cookbooks people recommend and I love that the authors gave you permission to share some of their really great recipes! Yay! What a genius idea. I love your blog!

MMmm… this looks great! I love international cuisine and the cookbook sounds interesting although I have my reservations as do you, when I hear you mentioning the oil and nuts in the book. Btw, the ersian Eggplant Stew with Yellow Split Peas and Lime sounds delicious and perhaps similar to your delicious Iraqi Eggplant and Seitan Stew?

The only guac alternative I have attempted making is “Guacamame” (edamame plus avocado) and I wasn’t impressed. Not impressed at all. Susan, do you pinky swear this is good? Because if you do, I will make it!

This is a wonderful addition to your blog, Susan, and I look forward to reading your exploration of all those cookbooks. 🙂 This guacamole recipe from Bryanna looks yummy. And the photo of it you took is fabulous. I can almost taste it by looking. 🙂

That guac looks yummy! I too am addicted to reading cookbooks. I am convinced it is genetic, as my mom is also a cookbook reader. Because I have so many cookbooks, I choose one every couple weeks, pick out some recipes from it and shop accordingly. I then use only that book for the week. This way I don’t feel like my cookbook purchases were wasted.

This looks really good and will be bookmarked as a yummy dip to try not a “lower calorie guac”. Why is anyone looking for a “lower fat” version of guacamole. “Good” fats are good for your health and very necessary. And avocados are a good fat.

I’m really excited to try this low-fat version of guacamole. I love guacamole, but I am also following a program that is low-fat vegan. Another recipe I recently found for a low-fat guacamole is made with frozen green peas. I look forward to more of your great recipes.

First, I want to thank you for your awsome website!!!! I have already successfully made several recipes and look forward to so many more. Now I want to preface this with “I dislike lima beans immensely!” and I am a very adventerous eater who likes many tastes. Growing up, I would swallow them like pills when they were served with dinner. My mom gave up on me. Wow! I love this dip, lima beans and all! I love guacamole and this is a great low-fat, vegan substitute. Thank you so much. Next, I am going to add just a few drops of tobasco.

I was so happy to find your website. Low or no oil recipes is so recommended by the really good doctors to combat and even reverse the epidemic of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses because of the high fat, sugar and oil diet we Americans have been used to eating. I know personally people with stents, and or bypass operations for heart disease that wish they had only knew the “Eat to Live” type recommendations by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and other doctors like Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. John McDougal and others. Something as simple as cutting out so called heart healthy olive oil in a person’s diet who was 95% vegetarian’s could have prevented serious heart procedures that were unnecessarily done.

This looks lovely! Every Friday is ‘Fajita Friday’ in our house and I’ve developed this very simple guacamole recipe:

1. Chop a small onion very finely in the food processer. Put in a small bowl. 2. Blend one medium sized ripe avocado with the juice of 1/2 lime, add salt & pepper to taste, and a clove of garlic if liked. 3. Mix with the chopped onion and add some finely chopped baby tomatoes.

I, like you, find the taste of coriander abominable, so none for me but it could be added if liked! Simple but effective and oil free 🙂

I just made this and it is amazingly goooooood! I have been intending to try it for quite some time, but had forgotten about it. When I saw your post today, I had to try it, since I had everything on hand. Thank you for sharing Bryanna’s recipe. The two of you have really inspired me, and I appreciate your work so much. Now off to eat some of that delicious guac-